Tijani Lauds Kwara for Keying into 3m Tech Talents Campaign

Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

The Minister of Communication, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, yesterday praised the commitment and drive of the Kwara State Governor,  AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, to making the dream of grooming 3 million technology talents (3MTT) across Nigeria a reality in the state.

Speaking in Ilorin at the graduation ceremony for the 3MTT Cohort (1) and Launch of Kwara Digital Economy platform, the minister  described the support of the state government as “amazingly huge” and commended AbdulRazaq’s partnership in building and transforming effective learners from the project.

Represented by the Community Manager for the Initiative, Ibrahim Zulkifuli, the minister stated that the initiative was transforming Kwara.
“We have all seen the digital transformation in the state and what the Honourable Minister envisioned is to ensure capacity building for everybody, but we can see how it is transforming from Kwara through the support of the  governor,” Tijani said.
After a state-wide sensitisation and registration, Kwara got more than 40,000 entries early January, thereby enjoying massive commendation from the federal government.
He said: “Firstly, the governor deployed the right head for the job, in the person of Special Assistant to the Governor on Digital Innovation and Technology, Hon Ishola Kayode.

“He is doing an amazing job in the area of going to underserved communities in Kwara State.  That actually makes Kwara the best when it comes to 3MTT support so far. And then, the governor is giving resources support like laptops and among support. I must say that no other state is doing that.”
The minister also said the ministry has a mission of getting the right skill and building something that is going to transform the state.
“We are going to have a lot of digital transformation when it comes to business innovation. That is why we had a stakeholders’ engagement last month.
“We have the synergy and collaborative efforts to ensure that everything is going on smoothly and we are going to deploy a business star hub from this initiative”, he added.

The event was graced by AbdulRazaq, who was represented by the Senior Adviser, Sa’adu Salau; other cabinet members and government officials in the state.
The programme which was themed: “Harnessing the Unlimited Potential of the Digital Economy “, also featured panel discussions.
AbdulRazaq, for his part, said the ceremony signposted the reality and prosperity of the commitment of the administration to transform Kwara state to a digital economy.

“We all know that this state was regarded as a civil servants state. You know the series of multibillion naira investments we have put in place in the last five years to make sure that we transform from analogue to digital economy.
“This is because the preponderance of the younger generation, the youth, constitutes a major programme of this government,” the governor said.
AbdulRazaq congratulated the participants and appreciated the minister for giving the state the right support to thrive on the digitalisation drive.
“The investment essentially opens Kwara State to a lot of foreign investors in the digital economy and transforms the state from what it used to be to a digitally prepared economy in the global community,” he added.

State Commissioner for Business, Innovation and Technology, Damilola Adelodun, said the gathering attested to the governor’s plan to fostering a culture of innovation and supporting tech programmes that are instrumental to creating opportunities for the upcoming tech professionals.
She said the administration had created the Ilorin Innovation Hub to nurture and support tech talents, start-ups and innovations in the state.
“We also have programmes such as the e-hackathon, partnership with IHS and other internal bodies which are currently ongoing, and others coming up in the areas of connectivity, data transfer, e-government, e-health, and much more”, she said.
The commissioner therefore advised the trainees to continue to embrace challenges and think outside the box to solve them, saying she has confidence in their potential to make significant impacts in the tech industry.
Chief Executive of Plat Technologies, Taofeek Abdulkareem, said the graduates had acquired a solid foundation through that 3MTT training, but enjoined them to take a step further by cultivating a digital mind-set.